THIS Was WWE's Most Creative Year Ever

In which creativity is not necessarily an amazing thing...

Jeff Jarrett Mabel
WWE.com

Creativity is not necessarily a good thing, it should be immediately pointed out. To underscore this, even Vince Russo's fiercest detractors never said he wasn't creative.

The Attitude Era is held aloft as the bastion of creativity, a time period in which megastars made themselves under Vince Russo's fit of form transgression and their own quick and often vile wits. Per WWE's retelling of it, the WWF simply had to move away from the New Generation's passé, star-devoid camp to survive, and having cast an eye to wider society - "Seinfeld and King Of The Hill," not ECW nor WCW of course - they did precisely that.

The WWF built on the transformative 1997, and its mind-blowing controversy, to situate its antagonist Vince McMahon against emerging superstar Steve Austin in a phenomenally successful, all-time classic rivalry. Between the 1995 and 1997, however, lay 1996.

The contrast between the über-goofy 1995 and 1996 is shocking, but this is sometimes obscured by the shared red, white and azure blue aesthetic. 1996 was a thoroughly bizarre, brilliant and b*llocks year in which a desperate and receptive Vince McMahon threw a f*ck-tonne of sh*t at the wall of Titan Towers - and some of it was earnestly deserving of the famous "such good" prefix.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!